2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster Review

2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster Review When the Mercedes-AMG GT emerged back in 2014 because the lighter, nimbler, and cheaper successor to the SLS AMG, not simply had been the 456-hp base and 503-hp S variants arguably amongst the company’s most targeted and well-balanced effectiveness autos since the unique 300SL, the coupes last but not least gave Mercedes a little something it had usually lacked: reputable competition for Porsche’s iconic 911 Carrera.

2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster Review

Key towards the 911 Carrera’s lasting acceptance is definitely the sheer selection of designs supplied, which includes probably the most primary stick-shift coupe; the opulent, 580-hp Turbo S cabriolet; as well as the hypervisceral, track-oriented GT3. With each Porsche feeling as specific as-or extra unique than-the last, Mercedes knew it eventually would must cook up more flavors from the GT to offer the 911 a run for its money.

Three years on, because the AMG coupes undergo mid-cycle enhancements and slight horsepower bumps to 469 and 515 horsepower, reinforcements have finally arrived. 4 further models triple the GT lineup for 2018: the long-awaited roadster model of the GT; new GT C coupe and roadster designs with 550 horses and in depth AMG efficiency enhancements; as well as the wicked, track-focused 577-hp GT R, a monster coupe that topped our 2017 Lightning Lap competition. The six-model lineup absolutely will help the GT compete using the 911, but does just about every truly feel specific in and of itself? We’re on the mission to learn, acquiring just tested a brand new GT C roadster-which would seem purpose-built to go head to head with Porsche’s sporting 911 GTS cabriolet. Since it turns out, even so near it might be to matching or surpassing its Porsche nemesis on paper, the AMG offers delights all its very own.

A Devil which has a Blue Dress

The GT C roadster is gorgeously curvaceous, from its convex Panamericana grille to its tapered rear end, and looks as wonderful as its coupe counterpart despite lacking the domelike roof. As do the 911 GTS along with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 in comparison with their lesser siblings, the GT C options a wider rear end than the GT/GT S-some 2.seven inches wider in this case-to accommodate a greater rear track and fatter rear tires (size 305/30ZR-20, up from 295/35ZR-19). Normal rear-wheel steering features up to one.5 degrees of toe movement. Flared side sills and energetic front aero splitters are the two highlighted rather garishly in chrome unless of course 1 springs for the $750 Exterior Night bundle that renders most brightwork in gloss black. This car’s black softtop may possibly have looked far more fascinating against its $720 Brilliant Blue paint while in the optional brown, but even spec’d exactly like our check auto the GT C roadster is wonderful to behold.

2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster Review - Interior:

We weren’t alone in our admiration, as we found when driving all around Los Angeles, wherever six-figure convertibles are as popular as palm trees and dubious “service animals.” We couldn’t have gotten far more attention if we had Playboy bunnies shooting fireworks off the trunk. Tourists, tour guides, street merchants, and even LAPD officers craned their necks and gaped. Dropping the prime would drop jaws, putting the GT C’s exceptional lowness and its formidable 79.0-inch width-just 0.four inch narrower compared to the 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom-on full show.

People who did not see the vehicle could certainly hear the deep rumbling exhaust note delivered from the GT C’s typical AMG Functionality exhaust system. Together with the car’s driving mode set to S+, a throttle blip followed by a scrumptious whip-crack pop-pop-pop on overrun was often good for a thumbs-up or two.

At the track, the GT C roadster turned in effectiveness numbers close to these of its bogey, the 911 GTS cabriolet. Zero to 60 mph necessitates three.three seconds while in the AMG-0.3 longer than the Porsche-but by 100 mph the 2 cars are tied at 7.three seconds. By 130 mph, the GT C is really a second ahead of the Porsche, a gap that grows to two seconds by 150 mph. Each cars clocked 4.0 seconds in our 5-to-60-mph rolling-start test. Every could declare some passing-lane bragging rights, using the GT C sprinting from thirty to 50 mph in 2.2 seconds and from 50 to 70 in 2.7, even though the Porsche did both deeds in 2.five.

We actually anticipated the brand new GT C to get faster, considering that we hustled a 503-hp 2016 GT S coupe to 60 in 3.0 seconds flat in the course of a 2015 comparison test. This auto, however, reached most milestone speeds among 0.1 and 0.4 second behind the significantly less effective GT S despite its more horsepower, revised gearing, and in many cases extra rear-biased fat distribution. The main difference could possibly be attributable to fuel quality-the comparo was finished in Europe-and the GT C ragtop’s extra 127 lbs.

Stomp to the gasoline in a GT C and this kind of discrepancies seem academic. In practice, catapulting to 60 mph in three.3 seconds within this AMG is often a neck-snapping, hold-on-with-both-hands, giggle-inducing riot, specifically using the best down in order that the sublime, unfiltered soundtrack washes above the occupants. Torque is omnipresent, with all 502 lb-ft out there from 1900 rpm and served with pretty much zero lag in Sport or Sport+ modes.

The GT C roadster’s formidable one.04 g’s of lateral grip edges out the lighter 911 GTS cabrio’s by 0.01 g, with swift off-center steering response and pan-flat body manage. At 151 feet from 70 mph to zero, having said that, the car’s braking effectiveness was a tad disappointing, some 10 feet longer compared to the GT S coupe’s regardless of this car’s $8950 carbon-ceramic brake discs. Even so, brake-pedal feel was pretty a great deal perfect.

2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster Review - Features:

If the GT C’s mandate would be to match the 911 GTS move for move, we’d say mission completed. But the two automobiles are not definitely similar in character. As we mentioned in our first drive of your GT C coupe, AMG might be aping Porsche’s 911 model structure but is performing so with “a entirely distinctive type of vehicle.” And this, we believe, can help the GT C succeed. With its prolonged wheelbase, prominent hood, and set-back cabin, the significant Mercedes does not area the driver appropriate from the action the way the Porsche does. This implies the driving encounter is rather extra like an Aston Martin DB11’s-spectacularly quickly and engaging when driven at 11/10ths but gran turismo chill when just cruising about, with adaptive dampers maintaining the trip heroically smooth in all but the Sport+ setting.

There is a particularly substantial sense of event inside the GT C’s richly ornamented cabin. Nappa leather is typical, though the matte-finished carbon-fiber trim came as element of an optional package that added a acceptable $3150 on the roadster’s $158,995 base rate. Other upgrades integrated a $1500 carbon-fiber engine cover, a $4500 Burmester audio technique, as well as $2250 Distronic Plus cruise-control setup. This GT C roadster’s as-tested rate was $180,065-that’s Audi R8 V10 Spyder/Porsche 911 Turbo cabriolet money and could come across as rather ambitious. Then once more, the AMG GT is significantly cheaper (and faster) compared to the preceding SLS AMG as well as that car’s predecessor, the SLR McLaren. And in relation to sheer curb appeal, nothing at all brief of a existing McLaren will get this substantially constructive interest.

Although incredibly small daylight exists in between the aim overall performance amounts in the AMG GT C and 911 GTS convertibles, the 2 autos come to feel as if they were developed on diverse planets. The GT C may perhaps be as rapid, however it provides appears, sensations, and sounds all its very own. We feel it is okay to like them the two.